Clever new democracy sausage surprises on Voice polling day

The democracy sausage is a staple of Australia’s voting culture and one booth updated the tradition to reflect the country’s cost-of-living crisis.

Australians struggling through a cost-of-living pressures have had some welcome relief at the most unlikely of places: the polling booth.

A vote followed by a sausage is a central part of the country’s democratic culture and Saturday’s Voice to Parliament referendum added a “cost-of-living” option for Aussies coming out of the booths.

A photo taken of a snag cook-up shows the classic democracy sausage, with sausage, onions and bread, going for $7.

But next to the regular offering the cooks offered a stripped d0wn “cost-of-living” version, with no onions, at $6.

The Voice to Parliament voting day featured a 'cost-of-living' democracy sausage. Picture: Supplied

Extras, dubbed “interest rate rises”, such as onions, bacon and eggs were pegged at $1 a piece.

An interactive database has revealed the far away places voters could find a democracy sausage, as millions of Australians at home and abroad headed to the polls.

In Adelaide, Kylie Darmody and Sean Tierney enjoyed a democracy sausage at the Seacliff Uniting Church booth in Adelaide.

Kylie Darmody, 50, and Sean Tierney, 50 from Kingston Park hold up sausages at Seacliff Uniting Church polling place. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Morgan Sette

Barbecues were fired up as voters headed to the polls to cast their vote in the Voice referendum on Saturday.

Around 9 million people cast their vote after Australians turned out in the millions at early polling booths this week, according to the latest Australian Electoral Commission data.

The fun doesn’t stop on the Australian mainland though, with the map marking sizzle locations in the Solomon Islands, Germany, Japan and the United States where voters can partake in the tradition.

Sausage sizzles fire up across the country as polling booths open. Picture: Democracy Sausage

Voters can snag a democracy sausage at the Australian Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. Picture: Democracy Sausage

Voters in Berlin on Referendum day can grab a weiner at the Australian Embassy. Picture: Democracy Sausage

Expats have notified the Democracy Sausage team that barbecues are being rolled out at the The Australian Embassy in Tokyo, Berlin and Houston, Texas.

Voting booths opened in NSW, Victoria and the ACT at 8am on Saturday, with more opening their doors in South Australia and Queensland in the next hour.

To ensure no one leaves empty-handed, a website has been set up to map out where democracy sausages are on offer.

The Democracy Sausage website in an interactive map that shows all polling booth locations across Australia, with icons showing where sausages and cakes are available.

Helping out with one of Australia’s most important democratic traditions before I pop into to the booth to #VoteYES23Australia today #DemocracySausagepic.twitter.com/57lEn4vn02

— Miranda Cumpston (@mirandacumpston) October 13, 2023

#democracysausage Lewisham Public School has a sausage sizzle and cake stall, with tap and go pic.twitter.com/MMYUkVfSGw

— Mandi Thran (@MandiThran) October 13, 2023

Snags away at Wesley uniting Church in Wagga.

Jeff Cooper said sausages had become an important part of Australian democratic tradition.

"I think it's something Australia could give the rest of the world, and instead of this conflict, they had a sausage sandwich." pic.twitter.com/hjP4JIUcUQ

— Daniel Holmes (@DHolmesnoise) October 13, 2023

Snags away at Wesley uniting Church in Wagga.

Jeff Cooper said sausages had become an important part of Australian democratic tradition.

"I think it's something Australia could give the rest of the world, and instead of this conflict, they had a sausage sandwich." pic.twitter.com/hjP4JIUcUQ

— Daniel Holmes (@DHolmesnoise) October 13, 2023

The website crowdsources real time data from Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

On Saturday morning there were more than 650 polling booths verified as hosts of a “democracy sausage” sizzle

Voters can use the hashtag #democracysausage or send a direct message to the site to help track the availability of food.

Voters have until 6pm (local time) to cast their vote before the polling booths close.